Aaron Randal Ripkowski (born December 20, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a fullback in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

, and was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the sixth round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

Early life

Ripkowski attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Dayton High School.

College career

Ripkowski attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where he played on the

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands illegally in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbyi ...

from 2011 to 2014 under head coach

Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through ...

. In the 2013 season, he had one

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

for a three-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on the season. In the 2014 season, he had seven receptions for 38 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown to go along with six carries for 13

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

yards and three rushing touchdowns. In four years at Oklahoma, he appeared in 47 games and started 17.

College statistics

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

2015 season

Ripkowski was selected in the sixth round (206th overall) by the

in the

. On May 8, 2015, he signed a contract with the Packers. In his rookie season, Ripkowski was the Packers' backup fullback behind veteran

John Kuhn John Allen Kuhn (born September 9, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Shippensburg University, he was signed by the Pittsburgh ...

. He appeared in 15 games, finishing the year with nine

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Ripkowski recorded his first career NFL reception, an 18-yard catch and run from quarterback

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in Week 9. Overall, he appeared in fifteen regular season games and two playoff games. He mostly contributed on special teams.

2016 season

In 2016, entering his second year, Ripkowski became the starting fullback after the Packers did not re-sign

. As the 2016 season progressed, Ripkowski's role expanded due to injuries to running backs

Eddie Lacy Edward Darwin Lacy Jr. (born June 2, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide football, Ala ...

and James Starks. He finished the 2016 regular season with 34 carries for 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with nine receptions for 46 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He also contributed on special teams. The Packers finished with a 10–6 record and made the playoffs. In the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, he had two carries for one rushing yard and one rushing touchdown to go along with two receptions for 11 receiving yards in the 38–13 victory. In the Divisional Round against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, he had four carries for 24 rushing yards in the 34–31 victory. In the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he had three carries for 11 rushing yards and two receptions for 28 receiving yards but was responsible for a fumble in the 44–21 loss.

2017 season

In the 2017 season, Ripkowski appeared in all 16 games and recorded five carries for 13 rushing yards and seven receptions for 39 receiving yards. He contributed on special teams. On September 1, 2018, Ripkowski was released by the Packers.

Kansas City Chiefs

On January 31, 2019, Ripkowski signed a reserve/future contract with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He was waived on May 3, 2019.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ripkowski, Aaron 1992 births Living people American football fullbacks American people of Polish descent Green Bay Packers players Kansas City Chiefs players Oklahoma Sooners football players People from Dayton, Texas Players of American football from Liberty County, Texas Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area